Shopping in Sugar Land

Blooming from a family-run arts-and-crafts business more than a quarter century ago, Woodland Art & Frame now focuses on accentuating masterpieces with complementary borders. Aside from performing traditional services, such as dry-mounting posters and retouching oil paintings, certified framers enlist a virtual framer program to help patrons visualize their artwork in different mattes, frames, and ’80s hairstyles before finalizing selections. Framers also transform flat-screen TVs into functional artwork by crafting screen-hugging frames, and sometimes visit homes or offices to assess aesthetic needs.

The Glass Cat’s handmade dichroic jewelry, artwork, and unique knickknacks are crafted by local artisans and the shop’s owner, a certified art teacher and glass sculptor with pieces in galleries and juried art shows throughout the U.S. Candles circulate tantalizing scents across an onsite art gallery peppered with creative wine-bottle artwork, as well as the shop’s selection of stylish purses and robust coffees from Ganovia, a gourmet coffee company. Taught by the owner, art classes guide students through dichroic-jewelry making and ceramic glazing, with studio time available for Glass Cat alums looking to work on a new piece or reheat pizza slices in a piping-hot kiln.

Model Home Furniture—begun in 1995 as a supplier of furnishings for picture-perfect model homes—later expanded to making the same photogenic furniture fill the public's lived-in lairs. Shepherds corral new and gently used items into the spacious show room, ranging from queen-size beds to dressers with drawers big enough to contain a siege of rapidly growing chia pets. With sets crafted for bedrooms, kitchens, living rooms, and dining areas, Model Home Furniture's designs can furnish one room or match an entire home's décor, eliminating the need to paint everything solid black or teach every cuckoo clock to sing in four-part harmony.

Parvizian Rugs International has cushioned Houston footfalls for more than 40 years with antique and custom-made carpets and rugs. Rug workshops and wool factories in Romania, Pakistan, and India fill Parvizian’s American and European storefronts with luxe piles of wool and silk, which are draped over displays or custom-created with help from savvy in-house designers. Parvizian also travels to homes and offices to clean carpets with hand-sudsed shampoos and environmentally friendly supplies, and restores rugs ravaged by moths and foot traffic with meticulous re-weaving, fresh twirls of fringe, and re-backing torn from the pages of Chicken Soup for the Soul.

Within Lavo Collections’ four bustling boutiques, an ever-updating array of fashionable threads entices visitors with catwalk-ready looks displayed on jauntily posed mannequins. Billowing fabrics and curve-hugging colors abound in silhouette-flattering sundresses or business-casual blouses, and waist-slimming pencil skirts provide canvases for intricate belts, delicate jewelry, or wearable versions of Rembrandt’s The Night Watch.

Stogies World Class Cigars cements its status as a formidable cigar resource by stocking an extensive selection of combustibles and accessories, hand selecting a staff chock-full of cigar know-how to help clients navigate the staggering stock. Stogies also proudly cultivates a sophisticated lounge where aficionados can gather, light up, and watch TV or compare notes. Clients peruse a selection of aromatic cigars from brands such as Montecristo, Kristoff, and Padron, all of which beg to be held and kissed with a match flame.

Smokers in search of a good way to start or perfect their at-home collections can check out a vast selection of humidors, stock up on ashtrays and cutters, or enlist the staff's steady laser engravers, which festoon smoking accessories and cigars with personalized messages or gentle reminders to exhale. The lounge's three plasma-screen TVs and wireless Internet keep smokers entertained as they enjoy the goods, and visiting guests, such as reps from heavyweight cigar manufacturers, often expound on industry practices and the secrets to proposing with a perfectly formed smoke ring.